Photos: Universal Orlando reveals details about Epic Universe’s Helios Grand Hotel

There’s now a full-color picture of what Epic Universe will look like when it opens next year. This week, Universal revealed new photos and details about the park’s “crown jewel” resort, the Helios Grand Hotel.

Situated nearly inside Epic Universe, the Helios Grand is a 500-room hotel with a dedicated park entrance for guests. Tickets are required on top of hotel stays, but Helios Grand guests will be staying closer to a park than any other vacationers at Universal.

Designed to blend in with the Celestial Park area of Epic Universe, the hotel features a Mediterranean style with celestial touches to nod to the Greek god of the sun, Helios. The god’s palace will also boast some of the best views of Celestial Park and the entire Epic Universe.

Also offering epic views of Epic Universe are many of the guest rooms and suites, which are stylized after a tranquil Greek garden. Suites with How to Train Your Dragon-themed kids’ rooms are also available. These rooms feature twin beds with Viking village theming and a mural of Toothless and Light Fury.

Everything else Universal Helios Grand Hotel has to offer:

• Bar Helios: Rooftop lounge with a tapas menu, specialty cocktails and 360-degree views of Epic Universe.
• Resort-style pool: Zero-entry pool with underwater speakers, a hot tub, cabanas, poolside movies and more recreational activities for guests.
• Flora Taverna: Full-service restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner along with a lobby bar. There’s an open-style kitchen for live cooking views and menus of Mediterranean comfort food and pizza. Al fresco setting offers more views of Celestial Park.
• Aurora Market: Coffee shop with grab-and-go food items, snacks and desserts.
• Lotus Lagoon: Poolside bar and grill serving cocktails and non-alcoholic refreshers and casual offerings like burgers, sandwiches and salads.
• Other amenities: Complimentary fitness center for guests, arcade game room and a Universal Orlando Resort Store.

With the opening of Helios Grand Hotel — and Epic Universe’s Terra Nova and Stella Luna resorts — Universal will boast 11 hotels with 11,000 guest rooms across the resort. The new hotels also mean new categories for Universal stays — Signature Collection, Prime Value Hotels and Value Inns and Suites — to help guests to choose their hotel based on style and budget.

Under the Signature Collection tier (the most luxurious and expensive) are Helios Grand Hotel and the three other Loews resorts as well as the Hard Rock Hotel. Prime Value Hotels include Aventura, Stella Nova and Terra Luna. The Value Inns and Suites include Cabana Bay and the Endless Summer Resorts, Surfside Inn and Dockside Inn.

Universal’s Epic Universe theme park and accompanying hotels will open some time next year. Lands include the originally themed Celestial Park alongside Dark Universe, How to Train Your Dragon: Isle of Berk, Super Nintendo World and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Ministry of Magic.